I recently read a piece saying that the age of the big box computer is drawing to a close, and that such dynosaurs are being driven slowly but surely to extinction by laptops. Fair enough. If that’s how other punters feel, I’m not going to tell them otherwise. But speaking for myself, I think my next computer, which I am pondering now, is probably going to be a ... another big box computer.

It’s not just that you can still surely (comments?) get more power into such a thing than you can squeeze into a laptop. There are other considerations in play.

I also have a laptop, and the most important feature of this laptop, apart from it being small and having a sane operating system identical to the one on my real computer, is that it is extremely cheap and contains only what I am doing during that particular bit of mobility. Which means that if I lose it, or drop it, or have it stolen, it’s not even the temporarily the end of my world. My big box computer could also get kicked, or even stolen, but this is far more unlikely, I think.

There’s a line in a Brit gangster movie that I like, which goes: “You can’t steal a warehouse. It’s big. It’s heavy. It’s stuck to the ground.” Okay, my big box computer isn’t quite that heavy, or quite that stuck to the ground, but you get my point.

There is also the matter of something being temporarily lost to take into account. This is why I still have a phone that is attached by a piece of wire to the wall. You don’t need wire any more for phones to communicate with the rest of the world, but wiring them to the wall sure makes them stay put. I have never yet temporarily lost my laptop, by leaving it in a strange place, the way people temporarily lose car keys, but it could well happen. I have lent it to people, in fact it is being lent out now, which is a very useful feature. Which obviously wouldn’t be happening if that was my only computer, with everything important of mine on it.

Last night, and I’m not changing the subject I promise, I attended a talk about art, and how people “ought” to buy more of it. I know. Why “ought” they to?

The matter of people having the sheer wall space was raised. What if there is nowhere to put all your art? People with an art habit need space, which is seriously expensive stuff. And it really helps if you are not constantly moving from place to place. Art is for people with big and settled abodes. Does not the same, on a smaller scale, apply to computers? I am one of that lucky demographic that has somewhere big and unchanging to put my big box computer, where I also do all my serious work. I have a big box computer, which is more desirable than a laptop for the reasons stated above (can’t be lost, dropped, stolen etc.), because I can. Many don’t, not because a laptop is automatically superior, but because they can’t have a big box computer. They have no one place to put it. They live in constantly changing accommodation or work in offices where they likewise have no fixed abode. Or, they just have to have their whole computing story with them both at home and at work.

What I’m saying is: if you don’t need your computer to be portable, you need it not to be portable.

Of course, the day may come when computers get so cheap that most can afford to lose them, damage them, have them stolen, like cheap mobile phones.

Also if our important computer stuff is not stored on our own computers, but is instead stored somewhere out there in virtual-land, and our computers are merely cheap tools to access our stuff - which (notice) remains on big box computers, in big information warehouses which are big, heavy, and stuck to the ground – that changes things. Suppose the computers we own cost next to nothing. Then, they become something we could afford to lose, break, have nicked, etc. People have been saying that would happen for years, but it keeps not happening. Is it now happening? Is that another reason why laptops are conquering the big boxes?

The person I am currently lending my laptop to is, come to think of it, probably using it a lot like that. Is this the future? And is one of the reasons why this is the future is that people have now to use laptops, so are obliged also to find a big box somewhere else to store their vital stuff, owned and controlled by someone else? It’s not that they want to live like this; it’s that they have to.

The reason I have a “big box” is because I’ve been upgrading it for over 15 years, the current model is a direct descendant of the original 386DX 33Mhz machine I built back in the early 1990’s. Over time this has probably saved me thousands of £ in new kit.

I was also a gaming junkie, a paid extortionate amounts for leading edge junk that lasted about 3 months in the front line. All that addiction has gone since I had a family, but the fun of upgrading is still strong, you learn a lot about both the hardware and software, I may even make money from it someday.

IMHO, unless you are a gaming addict, there is no real reason to own a desktop. The likelihood is you’ll have a router back home to connect the laptop (probably via wireless) to the net, all it takes is to stick a NAS drive on the router and synchronise your stuff occasionally and your data is safe, if you’re paranoid about losing the NAS then put it in the loft.

I always recommend a laptop to my “clients” (actually my friends and family), when they need support they can bring to damn thing to me instead.

Posted by Ian on 21 June 2010

Yes, big box computers are still more powerful than laptops for the same money, and the maximum power available is higher. I imagine this state of affairs will continue until Moore’s Law grinds to a halt, which is probably a long way off.

Another reason to have a big box computer is you get a full sized keyboard, a proper mouse, and a nice big screen. You can attach all these to a laptop, but once you have all these set up in your space, why not add a big box computer to go with them, too? It’s always better to have two computers than one.

"And is one of the reasons why this is the future is that people *have* now to use laptops, so are obliged also to find a big box somewhere else to store their vital stuff, owned and controlled by someone else?”

I think it’s more that people *can* use any number of different kinds of computers, each being best according to time, place and mood, and once you have more than one computer, storing your vital stuff with someone else is a neat way to always have it available to you.

At the moment whole architectural field is experiencing next big leap where software for drafting and visual representation is concerned. Instead of widely use AutoCAD packages new direction is BIM technology (Building Information Model). Best BIM application on the market now is Revit. TO be used to the full potential it requires a vast amount of space and fast speed videocards to store big libraries of building elements. So architectural offices who bought Revit packages end up upgrading their hardware, too - to 16gig RAM: and that is basically a gaming machine.

At the same time, new phones like Droid have capability to store and present pdf files of images, so if/when an architect is on the road, on the site or presenting to a client outside of office, he doesn’t need to drag a laptop with him anymore - he can just use his phone and access presentation drawings and 3D images from it.

I like to sit at a desk in a nice comfy office chair surrounded by large screens and using a full size keyboard. Sure, you can plug both those things into a laptop, but the laptop’s screen and keyboard become redundant when you do so.

However, a year or so back I got rid of my self-built big box that I had upgraded from time to time over the years and bought myself a Mac mini. Small, power efficient, reasonably powerful, and made from laptop parts, but without a built in keyboard or screen. For a non-gamer, it works great. I’m using it now. Apple have not always given this particular model much respect, but they have always sold lots and lots of them.